Burn With Me
by TiffanyAndCoThough
Summary: Mackenzie Mellark isn't like the other girls at her school. She's cold, abrasive, and doesn't trust easily, so what in Dylan Odair changed her?… a story about Katniss and Peeta's daughter and Annie and Finnick's son. The first chapter is an introduction.
1. Chapter 1 Introduction

_If you're wondering why I chose these names, Mackenzie means "fire-born", Dylan means "son of the sea", Aiden means "little fire", and Arden means "great forest". :)_

_Listen To-_

_A Thousand Years by Christina Perrie_

Being the child of two victors has its perks, but it also has its downfalls. I was always being watched. That was, of course, a downfall. I hated the attention. I wasn't the kind of girl who liked to be in the spotlight. I spent most of my time in the woods, hunting with my mom. I was exactly like Mom in every way. Not only did I look like her, I acted like her. Some (most) considered that a tragedy. I was cold, abrasive, and didn't trust easily. I wasn't always like this though. I used to be this sweet, innocent little girl until he died. He was Arden Hawthorne, a boy who I thought of as not only a friend, but a lover.

_It was Sunday. Arden and I always went to the forest to hunt and gather, just like our parents did years ago. I didn't hunt though. I collected nuts and berries for the bakery. Arden was skilled with the bow. My mom had actually taught him. She tried teaching me, but I was a lost cause. Anyway, we were making our weekly trip to the woods to hunt and gather. I had gotten some berries, but there was no sign of any animals. We decided to take a break by the river. I was eating some of my berries while Arden threw pebbles into the water. I stopped eating and lay down in the grass, looking up at the clear blue sky. Arden did the same. We were both turned around, so we could see each other. I stared into his beautiful, gray eyes and grinned. I wondered if he knew how handsome he was, but I doubt it. If he did, he didn't show it. "You're beautiful," he whispered._

_"I was just thinking the same thing," I whispered back._

_"You were thinking about how beautiful you are too?" Arden teased. I rolled my eyes and rolled on top of him. He placed his hands on both sides of my hips and kissed me on the lips. I pushed him off of me when his hand found its way under my shirt. He didn't seem too pleased about that, but I laughed it off. Arden took my hands in his and stood up. I did the same._

_"You're distracting me, Kenz. I'm never going to catch any game with you around," he whispered, his forehead pressed against mine. "But I can't get rid of you just yet."_

_"Good," I murmured. I was going to kiss him again, but I couldn't. The sun would be setting in an hour, and we still didn't have any game. "Come on. If we go deeper in the forest, we'll be able to find some deer." Arden nodded, and he and I continued to trek through the forest. We were unusually quiet as we had never been this deep into the woods and didn't know what kind of animals lived this far back. Mom had told us not to go past the river, but she also told us not to come back without any meat. We walked for ten more minutes in silence until I heard the sound a stick breaking behind some tall, thick trees. "I think I heard something," I whispered._

_"Same." We heard the noise again, but louder. Deer never came close. They usually flee. What kind of animal was this? Arden didn't seem to care. He just wanted game. He tiptoed behind the trees, putting an arrow in his bow. I was going to follow him, but then I heard a growl followed by Arden screaming. I ran behind the trees and gasped at what I saw: a grizzly bear with Arden pinned under him. I could tell it had already clawed him by the bloody gash on the side of his face. The beat didn't seem to notice me. He was too busy scratching every part of Arden's body. I was in shock for a couple seconds, but I came back to reality when I heard Arden scream again. I couldn't just leave him. I reached for the bow and arrow he had dropped. It was the only arrow I had. The rest were with him. I didn't know how to shoot, and I only had once chance._

_"You can do it," I whispered. I imitated my mother and shot the arrow at the bear. I watched in horror as it sped past the bear. I cursed under my breath. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to leave him as we're miles away from civilization, but I didn't have a choice. I ran as fast as I could through the forest and into town. I was a fast runner, but it still took me thirty minutes to get to the bakery. I was holding onto the thought that the bear left him, that was still alive, but I knew he was gone._

Things weren't the same after the accident. How could it be? The biggest change was me. I learned to hunt, cut and dyed my once blonde locks to a black bob, lost all my friends. I continued to blame myself for what happened. I was the one who insisted we go deeper into the forest. I was the one who could shoot a simple bow and arrow. What happened affected me more than I thought possible. I never thought of myself as that girl who depended on a boy to keep her alive, but, apparently, I was. All I did was go into the forest, never to or past the river, and cried over a picture of him in my room. I was pathetic. I knew Mom and Dad thought the same thing, but they never said anything. I don't know why Mom didn't. Her own father died, and she supported her family, not cry over an old picture. I tried to be strong, I tried to get out of bed on "those days", but I couldn't. I had been to a therapist in the Capitol, the same one that brought Mom and Dad out of their depression. He told my parents that I was going through teen angst. Yes, I was respected the man for helping my parents, but that was ridiculous. This was something different. My heart fell as though it was missing a piece, and it couldn't function properly without it.

_This was only the introduction, so, of course, it's short. I'd love for you to review! I'll need at least two reviews to continue! Thank you!_


	2. Chapter 2 District Four

_Author's Note- I don't own the Hunger Games. I forgot to mention that last time, but I doubt you thought I did. ;) Warning: Mentions of self-harm and eating disorders in this chapter. It's not too descriptive, but I just wanted to warn you. :)_

_You used to captivate me_  
_By your resonating light_  
_Now I'm bound by the life you left behind_  
_Your face it haunts_  
_My once pleasant dreams_  
_Your voice it chased away_  
_All the sanity in me_

_- My Immortal, Evanescence _

School had just been let out for spring break for the next couple weeks. Most kids were going to another district, as you could travel to other ones via the train station now, but I was still here, still here in my room, sobbing over the same old photograph. I felt weak. Why couldn't  
I just get over it? I know it's only been five months, but I'm better than this. I'm acting like one of those lovesick teenagers in the old films Dad and I used to watch. Dumb, worthless, dramatic, but what if this is normal? The only people I knew that had lost something were my parents and Haymitch, and they handled it better than I did. Well, Haymitch almost drank himself to death, so I suppose my actions aren't that bad compared to his. That doesn't make them right though. I pressed my face against the picture of him as the tears streamed down my face. I hugged it close to my frail body, wishing it were the real him, but knowing he would never come back, and, if he did, he would hate me for what I did to him. I heard a light knock on my door. "Come in," I croaked, barely intelligible. Mom walked in my room and sighed at what she saw. I was in "one of those moods" as my parents called them for my brother, Aiden. They weren't exactly comfortable saying broken, depressed, and torn.  
She sat on the edge of my bed and took the picture away from me. She put it on my bedside table, face down.

"Your father and I had an idea," Mom sighed, hugging me close to her chest like I was a little baby. I looked up at her. "We were thinking  
of sending you to visit Annie in District Four. It might be good for you." I stared at her, unable to blink. I hadn't seen Annie since I was eight. We had gone to Four, so she could meet Aiden, who was only a baby at the time. I enjoyed my time there. She had a son, Dylan. He was my age. Of course, I still believed boys had cooties then, so we didn't play together too much.

"You… want to get rid of me?" I said slowly.

"No, no! Of course not!" Mom gasped. "We just think if you left Twelve for a bit, the wounds wouldn't be as fresh. I think everything here reminds you of him, and that's not good for you."

"I don't want to forget about him," I sobbed.

"You won't, Mackenzie," Mom whispered. "He'll always be in here." She placed her hand over my heart. "The same for my father and sister. I'll never forget them, even though it doesn't hurt as it use to, the memories are still fresh. You need to hold onto that, but not the hurt you're feeling because that's not what made you love him."

"I know," I squeaked. "I just feel him… his presence here, and I can't let go of that."

"I understand that," Mom sighed, "but I don't want you to go through life thinking this is your fault because it wasn't. It was a tragic accident that could've happened to anyone."

"You told me not to go past the river, and I did," I sobbed weakly. "If I could just listen… he might be alive."

"You don't know that, Kenz!" Mom exclaimed. "That bear could've easily gotten through those trees and killed you instead of him! No one wanted that!"

"I did," I croaked. Mom pushed a strand of my black hair behind my ears and sighed.

"It'll be nice to have a change of scenery, won't it?" she whispered. I shook my head. I was tired of change, but I knew it was necessary if I was going to get better. "Four will be nice. Annie told me Dylan's excited to see you again. You two used to be such good friends."

"We wouldn't even go near each other, Mom," I smirked. It wasn't a smile, but it was close enough. I could tell by her eyes she thought I was improving.

"Well, it's a good time to start. You need someone besides your father and I," Mom sighed. "I know we aren't doing that good of a job. I just want you to know, we aren't doing this to get rid of you or make you feel like we don't love you. We're doing this because we do love you and want you to get better."

"I want to get better too," I murmured, "but I'm beginning to think it's impossible.

"It's not. I thought the same thing during my… funk, but, eventually, I did get better. Of course, I'll never be 100% whole again," she admitted. She had gotten better. I remember, one time, I had found her in the closet, rocking back and forth, mumbling "Prim". I was only four, and it scared me to death. I had nightmares for weeks. It wasn't until Mom told me about her sadness, not about the Hunger Games or the rebellion, just how her little sister died, I began to feel better. I don't know why. Maybe it was because I knew it wasn't my fault.

"I'll go," I decided. Who knows? This might be the start of something new, something good. God knows, I need it. "Mom, can I be alone for a while? Please?"

"Of course," Mom smiled. She kissed my forehead and left me to myself. I looked around my room and began to wonder what my life had become. I considered myself a neat person, but my room looked like a tornado went through it. All of my clothes were spread out over the floor, any pictures I had, besides the one of him, had been torn up, and it smelt like stench. When I got in these moods, I didn't bathe. It was gross, yes, but it hurt to move. Physically and emotionally. I would stay in my bed for days without showering, eating, or having any non-family social interaction. I suppose I was just like Haymitch, minus the drinking, but, if it were legal, I'd be an alcoholic too.  
It had been two days since Mom told me I was going to Four. My train left this morning at ten. It was seven now. I was still lying in the bed, curled up under my warm covers. Usually, if it was after six, and I hadn't gotten up, it meant I was having a bad day, but this was plain old laziness. I hadn't slept well the night before and having an early train wasn't helping. I looked out my window. The sun was already up. I better get moving. I stood up and went into my bathroom to take my first shower it what seemed like forever. I turned on the water and undressed while it was warming up. I couldn't help but notice how… ugly my body looked. I was as thin as a stick, thin enough to where you could see my bones. It wasn't because we couldn't afford food, it was that I chose not to eat it. The worst part was knowing that there were still starving families in Twelve, and I refused to eat like the ungrateful pig I am. If that wasn't bad enough, there were small scars lining my forearms from the razor, a razor that was meant for shaving, but, somehow, ended up slowly killing me. Some scars weren't as fresh as the others. Some were months old, others only a couple days. No one knew about them. It was cold enough in Twelve, even in the spring, where I could wear long sleeves and no one ask me about it. Some days, I wanted to wear short sleeves, wanted to let everyone see, wanted to feel like someone cared. I ran my fingers up my arm, stopped at my hair, and sighed. I missed my ringlets. I remember the day I cut them off. It was the morning of his funeral. Everything stung, the memories were fresh. I was having flashbacks to him running his hands through my hair, twirling the curls around his finger. I thought, if I cut them off, those bittersweet memories would stop. It was early in the morning, so I tiptoed downstairs and took a pair of scissors from the kitchen drawer. As I sobbed, I chopped off every single piece of hair I had, leaving me with tuffs of her at the top. If it weren't for my blue eyes and blonde hair, you would've thought I was Johanna. I didn't dye my hair for another couple days.

Once I finished my shower, I dressed and brushed my teeth and hair, I went downstairs for the first time in days. Mom, Aiden, and Dad were already sitting at the kitchen table, eating. They all grinned at me, especially Aiden. I have to admit, I do miss him during these days. I sat down beside my little brother and crossed my arms over my stomach. "You aren't going to eat this delicious breakfast I made?" Dad gasped, pretending to be hurt. Mom cracked a smile.

"I'm not hungry," I muttered dryly.

"It's going to be a long train ride. Please, just eat something," Mom begged. I looked the bread with a grimace. It looked… gross. They weren't appealing to me at all. "Do you want something else?" I shook my head. I didn't want anything, but Mom seemed to think I wanted a cheese bun. She buttered one and gave it to me. I used my fork to get a small piece of the roll. I shoved it in my mouth, chewed on it a bit, and swallowed it whole. I had to resist the urge to vomit everything up. It tasted that gross. I ended up eating the whole thing though, which only made me feel worse. Mom and Dad considered it "progress", but I felt like I was going two steps back.

The train station was more crowded than usual. It was always like this during holidays though. I think everyone was glad that the Capitol decided to insert a train station that regular people could use to visit others in districts besides their own. My train left in ten minutes, and Mom was still cooing over me. She might not seem like the cooing type, but having Aiden and I made her a lot softer. I think she still felt bad about sending me away too. I didn't want to go, but I wasn't mad at her. Who knows? This might help, I doubt it, but it might. "Don't forget. Dylan's going to meet you at the station in Four. You know what he looks like, don't you?" Mom fretted.

"Yes, Mom," I sighed. I could tell she was nervous by the way she kept rambling and repeating the same thing over again. It wasn't like her, but Mom became a different person when it came to us. No one ever thought she would be the motherly type. "He looks just like Finnick." I had seen Finnick in the family book. Mom had given me a smaller copy on my fourteenth birthday. I read it all in one night, wanting to learn more about the Games and my family. The most interesting character for me was Finnick. He reminded me of Arden, but with something special that was all his.

"Good. If you forget, just call me. We got the phone fixed, remember? If it doesn't work, call Haymitch. He won't be drunk, I promise. If he doesn't answer, which I doubt will happen, call Annie. You have her phone number, don't you? I'll give-"

"Katniss, she'll be fine," my father interrupted with a laugh. Who would've thought Mom would've been the overprotective one? "She knows what Dylan looks like, and we've already tested the phone out loads. Everything will be fine."

"If anything happens to her, I'm blaming you," Mom warned. I'm not sure if she was kidding or not.

"You do that," Dad chuckled, holding out his arms for me to hug him. I did. He kissed my temple and brushed my black hair behind my ears. "Your roots are showing," he grinned, standing on his tiptoes to look at the top of my head. Dad was constantly making it known that he hated my hair, even though, before I was born, he wanted me to have black hair like Mom's."You might as well wash it out."

"I might," I sighed, tugging on the edges of my hair.

"Well, I like it," piped Aiden. I beamed down at my little brother. Yes, I was jealous of his innocence, but I was glad he had it. He was too… good to know about the bad things, the monsters. I tried to shelter him from not only myself, but our parents' ghosts. He didn't deserve the nightmares. I heard the train whistle blow, and I sighed. I didn't want to leave, but I knew I was causing more sadness than happiness in just about everyones lives.

"I should, um, board the train," I mumbled, looking down at my old tennis shoes.

"We'll miss you," Mom whispered in my ear as she hugged me.

"I know," I sighed. She cringed at the fact that I didn't say 'I'll miss you too', but that would only make me cry. "Goodbye." I gave my father and brother one last hug and left them standing in the middle of the platform as I boarded the crowded train.

I wanted to sit by myself, but, unfortunately, every compartment so far had at least one person in it. I was walking down the aisle, looking in each one to see if there was someone close to my age in one. I wasn't the most social person in the planet, but I didn't have any I intentions on sharing a compartment with a seventy year old man who snores. I found one in the back of the train. There was a girl who looked to be my age in it. I gently knocked on the glass door. She looked up from her book, a book about the rebellion, and let me in. I sat on the opposite side of the compartment from her. She didn't really notice me until she turned a page on her book. She looked down at the book, up at me, down, up. She was probably looking at a picture of my parents. "Y-You're Katniss and Peeta Mellark's daughter, aren't you?" she whispered in shock. I sighed. I rather her be quiet if she was going to dote over me and tell me how "sorry" she was about the accident that she only read about it.

"Yes, but it's not something you need to make a big deal out of," I grumbled, twiddling my thumbs.

"I won't. I promise," she beamed, setting the book down beside her. "My name's Poppy." Just like the flower, Poppy was quite beautiful with her ivory complexion, piercing blue eyes, and blonde locks. She kind of reminded me of myself pre-accident.

"Mackenzie," I mumbled. She probably knew my name, but I didn't want to be rude. I could tell I was already intimating her. I didn't know how to be personable though. Not anymore, at least.

"That's a pretty name. Kind of normal though." It wasn't meant to be rude. She was just curious. It wasn't the first time someone had wondered about my name anyway.

"It means fire-born," I responded with a smile. It fit my firery personality perfectly, not just Mom's old title.

"Make sense since your mother's the Girl on Fire," Poppy mused. "Are you constantly being compared to her?" I shook my head.

"She's a lot stronger than I am," I muttered.

"I don't think that's true. I just think you're going through things." she shrugged.

"You don't know what it's like," I croaked as the tears welled up in my eyes.

"You're right," Poppy sighed. "I don't, but I know no one judges you for how you act or don't act. It's perfectly normal for you to be this way."

"I think I compare myself to her more than anyone. I fell in love with the way she supported her family after her father died and her mother was catatonic to the world. I just wish I could be the same way," I whispered. "I can't help but think I've disappointed her."

"I don't think you've done that at all, but, all that matters, is how you feel."

Poppy and I continued to talk until she dozed off two hours into the ride. I wasn't much of a talker, but something in Poppy changed me. She had a gift, the gift of being able to bring out the good in others. I heard the engine stop, and the conductor announced that we were in Four. "Poppy," I whispered, shaking her slightly once the train had made a complete stop. Her blue eyes flickered open, and she yawned.  
"What's wrong?" she mumbled sleepily.

"We're in Four," I laughed. I could already smell the ocean, and, for some reason, that was making me feel good, happy even.

"No wonder I smell water," she sighed, scrunching up her nose. She yawned again and stood up. I did too. We left the compartment and started walking down the aisle, which ended up taking a good couple minutes because we were in the very back. The platform in Four was just as crowded as the one in Twelve. I looked around for Dylan. He would be hard to find as most boys in four had that same bronze hair and sea-green eyes. Poppy found her family first. "There my aunt and uncle!" She completely forgot about me and ran into her uncle's embrace. I didn't want to interrupt, so I waved goodbye and continued walking. I was about to do the unthinkable and call Mom after making a complete circle around the station until I found Dylan leaning up against a vending machine in a provocative way, a group of young girls surrounding him. They were obviously smitten. Feeling mad because he forgot about me, I marched over there with the "Everdeen scowl" on my lips. I could see it in his eyes that he was about the flirt with me until he realized who I was.

"M-Mackenzie," Dylan gasped, pushing the girls away from him. "I forgot about you!"

"I can tell," I muttered dryly.

"I'm sorry," he laughed, patting my head as if I were a dog.

"Don't touch me," I growled after kicking him in the shin. He moaned as he bounced around on one leg. I tried to muffle my laughter, but I couldn't. Dylan looked up at me with a glare.

"You think that's funny?"

"Yes, I do," I giggled. "So does your fan club." I pointed to the group of girls, hiding their faces behind their magazines as they laughed. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me down the platform like I was a disobedient child. We left the station in silence, and I got one good look at the beach across the street. I caught a whiff of the water and knew I would like it here.

_Author's Note- I'm sorry it took so long for me to update! The Olympics are on, and I'm obsessed. Anyway, I didn't like this chapter much, but I hope you did! I know Katniss is a little OOC with her sending Mackenzie away. It seems like she's doing the same thing her mother is, but she's not. I hope that makes sense. Please review! :)_


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